kristin_71

It is a beautiful plant. Loves the hot, humid weather we get here in Ohio, much like in the south. It is absolutely the best when fresh right off the plant.

Definately yes. I am half Middle Eastern and okra is part of our food culture and I have grown it, which is alot of fun. It is a beautiful plant that is part of the hibiscus family. ( the flower is a giveaway.) Anyways, we eat it stewed in tomato sauce flavored with corriander over rice. Sometimes we throw lamb in and sometimes we don't. I can post the recipe if anyone wants it. It is fantastic, especially with homegrown okra. ( the okra has to be small, the large are too tough.)

I will look into ebay and amazon thanks! I keep loose recipes on a disc or jump drive. All in one place easy to find so if something happens to the computer, I can access them. A great website for recipes is the Splendid Table. I get their newsletter and keep the recipes in a separte file in my email account so I can access it from anywhere. I agree with you Lucy, handwritten recipes are precious. My mom has some my grandmother had written out and now that she is not here they mean alot. I have a cookbook from her church of ethnic Lebanese food and that too has a note in it to me. Every so often I pull that cookbook out and look at it and think of her. Little things like that mean alot.

I got mine at Costco at a discount. Not sure if it's still available there, but it wouldn't hurt to check. ← Costco hasn't opened here yet, sadly and it will be awhile before it does. So I will continue to save or maybe ask for it for Christmas. Not sure how anyone in my family will feel about putting out that kind of money for a cookbook, but hey it doesn't hurt to try right?

we roll them, a few hundred at at time and freeze them. Make sure tho if you are buying grapeleaves in a jar, you rinse them well of the brine. It can be salty and sometimes will give the leaves a bitter taste. We always pick them fresh and roll them.

As someone who is new to egullet, as a poster I thought I would throw my thoughts into this. The internet has made buying cooking related things, and I mean good cooking related items, good knives, cookbooks, purveyors etc. much more accessible to those of us who are not in the culinary world, or who are maybe contemplating it. There are things like Off the Broiler to intiate the unintiated and make the public much more aware of what is out there in terms of artisinal things, cooking technique and recipes. I am saving to buy the French Laundry Cookbook, because that is the absolute one cookbook I really need to have. In the meantime I just go sit in Barnes and Noble and thumb through it and try not to drool. I agree though, buying good cookbooks is like buying art. The French Laundry Cookbook is a good example of that.

Over the last two weeks I have tried Vermonty Python, ( fantastic) Neopolitan Dynamite ( Cherry Garcia and chocolate, what more could one want?) The Godfather and Irish Mudslide. There was one other that I can't remember but it was a fun adventure in ice cream. Not a bad one in the bunch!

When I got married I registered for good china, silver, crystal etc. I bought the knife set I wanted ( Chicago Cutlery) with wedding money cause I knew nobody would get them for me. I had a nice set of pots and pans but I was still learning to cook so I had a nice set of tfal which is fine for learning on. I still have that set, and will keep pieces of it because they are non stick and nice. However, I am now single again. So when I finish school I am going to seriously invest in the good stuff. My mom uses Le Creuset and I adore them! So I think I will use a mix of All Clad and Le Creuset. I will need to get some new knives, not sure what yet. As for my everyday china, its pfaltzgraf and I love it along with my fine china and silver. Not sure I want to keep the silver because of who bought it for us ( the mother in law) but for now why not. I love my fine crystal too. I recall having alot of fun registering. The only thing I think that has changed is that my taste in what I like has become much more sophisticated. I should add that before I was married my mom and dad got me my everyday china so that I would have the pieces I wanted. My mom had gotten her everyday and never got the extra pieces when it became discontinued. I remember getting it for birthdays and Christmas which was nice because, while it is still a popular pattern, I don't have to worry if it does become discontinued. I think it is a nice thing for a woman to start her married life, or hell her single life with the basics.

I am the same way. Forget the chocolate, I want SALT!! I can eat a small bag of Ballrich's(they are from this area of the country, not sure they are available elsewhere but damn they are good!) potato chips in one sitting. Glad to know I am not the only one.